GB2574715A - Bifold door hinge - Google Patents

Abstract

A hinge having a leaf 50 to be secured to a first extruded plastic door panel and a mounting plate (58 Fig 4) with projecting lugs 56 capable of being inserted through holes into a channel in the extruded frame while the mounting plate remains outside the channel, the each lug having a transversely extending hole for receiving a screw 55 to secure the leaf to the edge of the door panel. Preferably the hinge is a partially concealed hinge for a bi-fold door which may also include a one piece body 22 and a pivot pin 80 connecting the leaf to the body, preferably by grub screws (30 Fig 5). The hinge may be sealed using a seal plate (32 Fig 4) which engages with an elastomeric strip 85 mounted in a seal channel of the leaf and also receives a tongue 87 projecting from the leaf which is there to prevent the hinge from being forced open (see alignment in Fig 7/8). A cover (24 Fig 5) may overlie the base body and be secured in place using plugs (31) which engage with mating sockets on a cover holder (26) which is interlocked with the base body.

Description

BIFOLD DOOR HINGE

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a hinge for connecting to one another two panels of a bifold door.

Background of the invention

In certain known bifold doors, hereinafter be referred to as a metal reinforced plastics bifold doors, the individual door panels have a frame formed of metal reinforced plastics extrusions. The terms extrusion and extruded are commonly used to describe the frames of bifold doors, because of the manufacturing process used in their production. However, in the present context these terms should be taken to include any article having a uniform cross section over its length, regardless of how it is manufactured. It should also be mentioned that the term door as used herein should be taken to include any article formed of panels hinged to one another in concertina fashion, for example a window, a shutter or a screen.

As the plastics material used in such doors is commonly uPVC, they are also known as uPVC bifold doors. The metal reinforcement refers to metal bars or extrusions that are received in longitudinal channels of the plastics extrusions to enable door furniture, such as hinges, locks and handles, to be securely mounted. Screws that only engage in the plastics material would not be sufficiently strong.

Each panel of such a door has a front face, a rear face and two vertical edges. In the closed position of the door, the faces of adjacent door panels lie in the same plane as one another with the two abutting vertical edges concealed and facing one another.

-2With bifold doors in which the panel frames are made of a plastics material, the use of screws engaging only in the plastics material does not provide a sufficiently secure mounting for the door hinges. For this reason, the plastics extrusions of some panel frames include longitudinally extending closed channels to receive metals strips that extend over the full height of the door panel. Mounting of a hinge leaf in such a construction requires holes to be drilled into the metal strip to permit insertion of self-tapping screws.

The invention seeks to provide an alternative method of securely attaching a leaf of a hinge to a door panel that dispenses with the need to insert a metal strip over the entire height of the door panel.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention, there is provided a hinge having a leaf to be secured to an edge of a first door panel that has a frame formed of a plastics extrusion and that includes a longitudinally extending closed channel located adjacent the edge of the door panel, wherein the hinge comprises a mounting plate with projecting lugs capable of being inserted into the channel through holes formed in a wall of the channel while the mounting plate remains outside the channel, the lugs being formed with transversely extending holes for receiving screws to secure the leaf to the edge of the door panel.

In some embodiments of the invention, the hinge is intended for use in a metal reinforced plastics door and comprises a leaf to be secured to the edge of a first door panel and a base to be secured to the front face of the second door panels, the base and the leaf being connected to one another by a pivot pin. Such a hinge is herein termed a partially concealed hinge because, when the door is closed, only the base is exposed, the leaf being hidden between the

-3 edges of the two adjacent door panels. With bifold doors, it is desirable to be able to adjust the distance between the edges of adjacent panels when a door is closed. This is to enable compensation for variations resulting from manufacturing tolerances and thermal expansion or contraction.

In a partially concealed hinge of an embodiment of the invention, the pivot pin may be connected to the base body by engagement with the head of at least one bolt that is mounted in the base body for sliding movement in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the pivot pin, the bolt including a portion in screw threaded engagement with a nut that is rotatable relative to the base to adjust the position of the bolt relative to the base, thereby enabling separation between the two panels to be adjusted without repositioning the base body nor the leaf on the door panels.

Because the base of a partially concealed hinge is visible, and therefore accessible, when the door is closed, it presents a security risk in that, if the fixings securing the base to the door panel are accessible, the base may be removed from the door panel and thereby allow the door to be opened.

In an embodiment of a partially concealed hinge, the hinge may further comprise a cover to overlie the base body and to inhibit access to fixings that serve to secure the base body to the face of the panel, and a cover holder that is capable of being slid into a position relative to the base body in which position the holder cannot be moved relative to the base body in a direction normal to the front face of the panel, and wherein a screw is provided to secure the cover to the cover holder, the screw being inserted into a location on the edge of the door panel so as to be inaccessible when the door is closed.

The extruded edges of plastics folding doors have seal channels for receiving elastomeric sealing strips. When the

-4 door is closed, the elastomeric sealing strips are compressed against the surface of a separate compression strip, often made of aluminium, that is secured to the door panel extrusion and extends over the full height of the door panel. This forms an air-tight seal to exclude draughts. When installing a partially concealed hinge, which has a leaf secured to the edge of a panel, a section of the compression strip needs to be omitted, or cut away, to accommodate the leaf of the hinge and as a result the air-tight seal is interrupted by the hinge .

In an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a hinge for use in a bifold door in which the second panel is formed with a sealing channel for receiving a sealing strip to seal against a surface of a compression strip to be secured to the edge of the first panel, a section of the compression strip being cut away to accommodate the leaf to the hinge, and in which the leaf has a compression surface to form with sections of the compression strip adjacent the leaf a continuous surface against which the elastomeric sealing strip received in the sealing channel of the second panel is compressed when the door is closed to avoid interruption of the seal in the vicinity of the hinge.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a bifold door fitted with hinges of the invention,

Figure 2 is a view of an assembled hinge and a separate mounting plate,

Figure 3 shows different parts of the hinge of Figure 2 separated from one another,

Figure 4 is an exploded view of all components of the hinge in Figures 2 and 3,

-5 Figure 5 is a second exploded view of the components of the hinge as viewed from the rear,

Figure 6 shows a schematic section of the hinge of Figures 2 to 5 mounted on two panels of a bifold door with the door shown in a partially open position,

Figure 7 is a view like that of Figure 6 with the door shown in a closed position.

Figure 8 is the same view as Figure 7 with one of the compression strips omitted for clarity,

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a hinge when fitted to a bifold door,

Figure 10 is a section showing only how a mounting plate for the leaf of the hinge is located in a door panel, and

Figure 11 is a section showing how the base and the leaf are secured to the panels of the bifold door.

Detailed description of the drawings

Figure 1 shows a bifold door 10 having three panels 10a, 10b and 10c that are hinged relative to one another in a concertina fashion. The hinges 12 connecting panels 10a and 10b are as described below by reference to Figures 2 to 11. The hinges 14 connecting panels 10b and 10c are generally similar but further incorporate rollers that are guided in tracks .

The hinges 12 are of the partially concealed type in that they have a base 20 secured to a face of a door panel 10a and therefore exposed when the door is closed and a leaf 50 that is secured to the edge of the adjacent panel 10b and is hidden from view when the door is closed. The base 20 and the leaf 50 can pivot relative to one another about a pin 80 and an optional handle 90 is pivoted on the upper and lower ends of the pin to assist in pulling the door open from one side. Bushes 82 for the handle 90 are fitted to the ends of the pivot pin 80 and retained by end caps 84.

-6The base 20 comprises as its main component a body 22 which is formed of metal and which may be cast or machined. The body 22 is formed with projecting pins 23 that pass through holes in the face of the first door panel 10a and the body is secured by means of self-tapping screws to a metal reinforcement 39 (see Figures 6 to 8) located within a channel of the plastics frame of the door panel. The pins 23 provide the strength required to support the weight of the second door panel 10b.

At its upper and lower ends, the body 22 is formed with sets of projecting ears 25 formed with aligned holes for receiving respective sliding bolts 28 of which the end is formed as a cylinder for receiving the pivot pin 80. The pin is secured to the two bolts 28 by means of grub screws 30 and cannot rotate relative to the bolts 28.

The ends of the bolts 28 are screw threaded and engage nuts 35 that are each located between two ears 25 so that they can rotate relative to the base body 22 but are constrained against lateral movement. By rotating the nuts 35, the sliding bolts can be made to move in a direction to vary the distance between the two door panels 10a and 10b when the hinge is mounted on the door.

The leaf 50 of the hinge has a cylindrical portion 52 for receiving the pivot pin 80 to allow the leaf 50 to rotate freely about the axis of the pin 80. The remainder of the leaf 50 is a contoured extrusion that will be described in greater detail below.

The leaf 50 is screwed to the edge of the panel 10b by means of screws 55 (see Figures 9 and 10) passing through holes 54 (see Figure 4) in the leaf 50. The screws 55 do not however bite into the plastics material of the frame of the second door panel 10b but engage in threaded lugs 56 that project from a mounting plate 58.

-7As best shown in Figure 10 and 11, the lugs 56 of the mounting plate 58 pass through holes 57 in a wall of the door panel extrusion into a longitudinal channel 59 of the extrusion and are engaged by the screws 55 which are inserted through the edge of the door panel so as to be invisible and inaccessible when the door is closed.

The leaf is further secured to the edge of the door panel 10b by means of self-tapping screws that engage in a metal reinforcement 45 (see Figures 6 to 8) inserted into a channel of the door extrusion.

To prevent access to the screws securing the base body 22 to the face of the door panel 10a, a cover 24 is provided to overlie the entire body 22. The cover 24, as shown in Figure 5 has projecting plugs 31 on its rear surface that engage in mating sockets 37 formed in a holder 26 that can in turn be slid into the body 22 of the base 20. The holder 26 and the base body 22 have interlocking formations 81, 91 so that after the holder has been pushed into position then slid sideways it cannot be pulled away from the base body 22. A grub screw 33 inserted from the edge of the panel 10a into the holder 26 secures the holder 26 to the cover 24. As the grub screw 33 is inserted into the end of the panel 10a, it is inaccessible when the door is closed and thereby ensures that the cover 24 can only be removed to access the hinge fixings after the door has been opened.

It will be appreciated that because the cover 24 wraps around the hinge pin 80 and the latter is capable of being repositioned relative to the base body 22 by means of the bolts 28, the cover needs also to be repositionable relative to the base body 22. Because the holder 26 can slide relative to the base body 22 in a direction parallel to the axis of the bolts 28, it enables the cover 24 to be secured to the base in all positions of the hinge pin 80.

- 8 Figure 4 shows two adhesive strips 41 that are placed over the ears 25. These serve as packing between the base body 22 and the cover 24 to avoid rattling or noise in the event of the door vibrating for any reason.

Figures 2 to 4 also show a separate component 32, herein termed a seal plate, that is screwed to the edge of the door panel 10a on which the base 20 is mounted. The seal plate 32 serves two functions, the first is to seal against an elastomeric strip 85 (see Figures 7 to 9) mounted in a seal channel 83 formed in the leaf 50. The second function of the seal plate 32 is to receive a tongue 87 projecting from the leaf 50 to withstand any force that is applied to the hinge in a direction normal to faces of the panels when the door is closed, if an attempt is made to force the door open.

Reference will now be made to Figure 6 to 9 to explain how seals are created between the two door panels 10a and 10b when the door is closed. The door panels are fitted with seals that require no modification when external hinges are used. These seals can best be understood by reference to Figure 9. The extrusion of the door panel 10a has a channel 46 that extends the full height of the door and receives an elastomeric sealing strip 49. The edge of the second door panel 10b has a seal channel 101 that receives a sealing strip 103. The surfaces against which these elastomeric seals are compressed to effect a seal are provided by two separate components 106 and 108 that are secured to the edges of the respective door panels by means of screws 110. The components 106 and 108, which are herein termed compression strips, are typically made of aluminium.

Because a partially concealed hinge has a leaf 50 that is secured to the edge of a door panel, the seal compression strip 108 on the panel 10b to which the leaf is secured must be cut away, as shown in Figure 9, to accommodate the leaf 50. In order to ensure continuity of the surface against which the

-9sealing strip 49 is compressed, in an aspect of the invention the leaf 50 includes a surface that is continuous with the compression surfaces defined above and below it by the sections 108a and 108b of the compression strip 108 that straddle the leaf 50 of the hinge.

The presence of the leaf 50 also prevents the sealing strip 103 on the panel 10b from sealing against the compression strip 106 and this too must therefore be cut away in the region of the leaf 50. To replace the seal between the sealing strip 103 and the compression strip 106 at the location of the leaf 50, the latter is formed, as earlier described, with a seal channel 83 that receives a sealing strip 85. As shown in Figure 8, this separate short length of sealing strip 85 is compressed against the seal plate 32.

Claims (4)

1. A hinge having a leaf to be secured to an edge of a first door panel that has a frame formed of a plastics extrusion and that includes a longitudinally extending closed channel located adjacent the edge of the door panel, wherein the hinge comprises a mounting plate with projecting lugs capable of being inserted into the channel through holes formed in a wall of the channel while the mounting plate remains outside the channel, the lugs being formed with transversely extending holes for receiving screws to secure the leaf to the edge of the door panel.

2. A hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hinge is a partially concealed hinge for a bifold door, further comprising a one-piece base body to be secured to a face of a an adjacent second door panel, and a pivot pin connecting the base body to the leaf to enable the two panels to pivot relative to one another about the pivot pin, wherein the pivot pin is connected to the base body by engagement with the head of at least one bolt that is mounted in the base body for sliding movement in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the pivot pin, the bolt including a portion in screw threaded engagement with a nut that is rotatable relative to the base to adjust the position of the bolt relative to the base, thereby enabling separation between the two panels to be adjusted without repositioning the base body nor the leaf on the door panels.

3. A hinge as claimed in claim 2, for use in a bifold door in which the second panel is formed with a sealing channel for receiving a sealing strip to seal against a surface of a compression strip to be secured to the edge of the first panel, a section of the compression strip being cut away to accommodate the leaf to the hinge, wherein the leaf has a compression surface to form with sections of the compression strip adjacent the leaf a continuous surface

- 11 against which the elastomeric sealing strip received in the sealing channel of the second panel is compressed when the door is closed to avoid interruption of the seal in the vicinity of the hinge.

4. A hinge as claimed in claim 2 or 3, for a metal reinforced plastics bifold door, the hinge further comprising a cover to overlie the base body and to inhibit access to fixings that serve to secure the base body to the face of the

10 second panel, and a cover holder that is capable of being slid into a position relative to the base body in which position the holder cannot be moved relative to the base body in a direction normal to the front face of the second panel, and wherein a screw is provided to secure the cover to the

15 cover holder, the screw being inserted into a location on the edge of the door panel so as to be inaccessible when the door is closed.